Yarkonim on the verge of demolition: the National Council has refused to change the agricultural designation of the land. This is a blow to the owners of the complex – including the Nerudi and Amos Luzon families, and a victory for the Ministry of Justice. The 10,000 square meter complex has been built and operating illegally for over 15 years
On Tuesday, the National Council for Planning and Building, led by Zeev Bielski, chairman of the board of the Yarkonim complex in Petach Tikvah, discussed the largest construction projects in Israel awaiting permits. It also discussed the possibility of canceling the declaration of “Yarkonim” as located on agricultural land, much to the dismay of the center’s owners, including the land development company owned by the Nimrodi family, businessman Amos Luzon, and the municipality of Petah Tikva, who have long fought to remain in the commercial enclosure.
For years, demolition and closure orders have been pending against the complex, but so far, the developers have managed to block them, and the case has always been before the courts. The most difficult obstacle standing in the way of continuing the violation is the fact that the land on which the enclosure is built is declared agricultural land. If the National Council had canceled the declaration, the municipality of Petah Tikva would have had the option to grant the site an exceptional use permit, and the place could have continued to operate.
The National Council had already decided almost a year ago that the declaration should not be canceled after several hearings during which Amos Luzon and his lawyers appeared before it. On the other hand, Deputy Attorney General Erez Kaminitz presented a firm position before the council that the center constitutes a serious construction violation, for which demolition orders have already been issued by the courts and that legalizing the violation would constitute a breach of the law.
However, Kaminitz’s well-established opinion led the developers to appeal the decision to the central district court, arguing that in his opinion, the legal advisor’s opinion was inconceivable. – Once again, the land was declared agricultural.
This is a commercial structure of over 10,000 square meters, built on the basis of permits illegally issued by the municipality of Petah Tikva, which was completed in violation of an administrative suspension order issued against it by the court and has been operating for over 15 years.
In the past, criminal proceedings were initiated against the owners of the complex, which resulted in convictions and fines totaling 15 million NIS. In January 2014, the Kfar Saba Magistrate’s Court issued an order mandating the cessation of the use of the compound as of July 17, 2015, and the demolition of part of the building by April 17, 2015.
Subsequently, the owners of the complex and the merchants delayed the execution, the court accepted their request and extended the execution of the orders several times, the final closure of the complex was supposed to take place on 1.9.17 and the demolition on 1.6.18. The owners of the complex and the merchants appealed to the central district court, which ordered the suspension of the execution of the orders pending a decision on the appeal, as the appeal was heard both in writing and orally.
